GLORIA JONES was one of the first female writers and producers for Motown. Photo courtesy Jim Britt

By Jamie Brotherton

Once dubbed the Northern Queen of Soul, Gloria Jones is a standout artist. This magnetic performer with a dynamic voice has maintained a steady career spanning more than 40 years in gospel, Northern Soul, R&B and pop.

Jones also originated the song, “Tainted Love” in 1964, which the synth duo Soft Cell later covered in 1982 — and whose version zoomed up various Billboard charts both in 1982 and 1999.

Jones was one of the first female writers and producers for Motown, alongside Pam Sawyer. She wrote and produced for acts including the Jackson 5, The Supremes and The Commodores. “If I Were Your Woman,” the song Jones wrote for Gladys Knight & the Pips, was nominated for a Grammy in 1971.

Jones also enjoyed an association with the iconic Marc Bolan and his hit band, T. Rex (1973-1977), in which she sang backup vocals and collaborated with Bolan on numerous recordings. Offstage, Jones and Bolan fell in love, and she became the mother of his Bolan’s only child.

Today, Jones remains a force in the music industry. She has served as musical supervisor for films and re-released her 1973 album “Share My Love” in 2009. She currently is building the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film in Sierra Leone, Africa, with their son, artist Rolan Bolan.

How did you begin your music career?
Gloria Jones: I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the first seven years, and my Uncle Bob was my baby sitter and a beautiful jazz musician; he used to rehearse in my father’s church. When I was a little girl, he was practicing on his saxophone, and I started playing on the chair as if it were a piano.

Then at the age of 4, my dad asked if I would sing a solo at church. They thought it was just going to be like a little child getting up there; instead it was really emotional, very similar to that of Michael Jackson, having that natural ability. I never knew this until my uncle shared this with me a few years ago.

At age 14, I was with a gospel group for four years, The Cogic Singers, that I formed with Frankie Karhl and Billy Preston. I remember when Billy returned from the Little Richard tour in Germany and had met The Beatles, who were going under another name at the time. He kept talking about this group and said, ‘They are going to be so big.’

To be honest, we were humble, churchgoing, gospel-singing kids. Our life was going to gospel programs, buying a hamburger and having a malt. That was really the sincerity that we took with us in the record industry.

How did you begin your association with Motown?
Jones: Hal Davis discovered us at the church. I would say he was the original sound for Michael Jackson, by teaching him how to present the song with the inflections; he really helped him to become a recording artist. Brenda Holloway, her sister and I started doing background sessions, and we had a really unique sound that was sort of crossing over into the rock world; it brought attention to Hal Davis, and he introduced me to Ed Cobb.

I thought I was signing with Motown, but they really weren’t into that hard Gospel sound; it was more The Supremes. Even though I was with Cobb, I was still doing background work for Motown, and then I began writing with Pam Sawyer. That is how I was able to get the contract to become a songwriter and producer for Motown.

What was your experience at Motown and to work with luminaries as Berry Gordy and The Jacksons, etc.?
Jones: When we were writing at Motown, it was about the best man winning, and Mr. Gordy would say, “The song that you wrote — is someone going to buy a sandwich or are they going to buy your record?” He wanted you to hit the top. I have to tell you, to have been able to be under such a wonderful person, someone who actually saw my gifts as a songwriter and who gave me the opportunity and chance, because here I am, a young girl at 21, 22 years old, and you’re on the elevator and you’re hearing your music on Muzak — where else would that happen? Mr. Gordy is the kindest, most humble and creative person. He loves the art, and he enjoyed young people. He wasn’t that much older than us, but he enjoyed young people and he loved seeing us create and work at the piano. He is a true artist himself.

Motown was just a wonderful atmosphere. When I look back on it, we were all young. Michael Jackson was only 11, but he was telling everyone he was 8. I admired Mr. and Mrs. Jackson so much, because they trusted us and let us come into their home to work with their sons, who are talented musicians.

When Michael recorded “2-4-6-8” he had those beautiful, big eyes that he gave to the world, but he was just a little boy out there playing in the hallway. We were going over the lyrics with him, but he just couldn’t wait to play. Since Pam and I were both young mothers, we knew how to balance, and he had fun with us. We were like, ‘OK, Michael, just give us three more lines, and then after that, you can go and run, do whatever you want to do.’

We would go to their house to present our songs, and Michael was so mischievous. He loved to tease Pam, and she used to tell me, ‘Michael is so cheeky.’ We really had fun and appreciated the whole family.

Before his sold out show Carlos Santana stands at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. "This is ground zero for peace and love," he said proudly. Photos courtesy of Michael Bloom for Bethel Woods.

By Larissa Lytwyn

“Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past,” Carlos Santana famously stated. “They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.” Forty-one years after his Woodstock debut, Santana returned to the Bethel, NY site July 17, sharing his moment as a bonafide rock legend. The original Woodstock site is now home to a booming cultural center, including the Bethel Woods Museum and an annual summer concert series.

Carlos Santana plays a sold out show at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Photo courtesy of Michael Bloom for Bethel Woods.

Santana took the stage to the opening chords of “Soul Sacrifice,” his career-launching tribute to Afro-Latino spirit. A montage of images from his Woodstock ’69 performance flashed behind him. Although Santana played the festival’s 25th anniversary in Saugerties, NY, this summer marked his official homecoming to the grounds that made him a music icon.

“It’s nice to meet again,” he murmured into his microphone.

Bodies jumping like flames, someone punched a beach ball overhead. It was Woodstock all over again: defiantly carefree. Santana opened his two-and-a-half-hour set with “Maria, Maria,” his 1999 number one hit from his smash album Supernatural.

The artist’s endurance is a testament to his spiritual philosophy. “We all have lights within us,” Santana remarked halfway through the show. These lights, he continued, feed God—and each other. “If it sounds like I am preaching,” he said dryly, “it is because I am.”

The guitarist’s inspiration from other performers is evident in his 2000 Grammy for Record of the Year for “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. Santana’s magic also scored Billboard-toppers for Chad Kroeger of Nickelback (“Why Don’t You and I”) and Michelle Branch (“The Game of Love”). He has also collaborated with Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Sean Paul and Joss Stone.

Next, he wants to work on an album with 2010 tour mate Steve Winwood, a renowned fixture in the music industry for the last five decades. While Winwood’s solo hits include “Higher Love,” the Englishman also thrives on the power of artistic partnership. A highlight of his opening set July 17 was a soul-chilling rendition of “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” his hit with 1970s group Traffic.

In contrast to Winwood’s at times melancholy “blue-eyed soul,” Santana was a Latino dance party. Bodies throbbed under pulsating red, gold and purple lights to timeless hits including “Black Magic Woman,” “Oye Como Va” and “Evil Ways.” Santana also paid homage to classic rock groups with stirring renditions of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” and the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm.”

Santana’s ten-piece band stayed firmly in the spotlight, including lengthy solos from drummer Dennis Chambers and guitarist Tommy Anthony. Vocalists Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay slipped easily from African rhythms into rock n’ roll grit. In the end, “love, peace and freedom” were still the answer, Santana said. These values were the Holy Trinity of contentment in a world marred by the same social uncertainties of 1969: war, political divisiveness and economic struggle.

Before his sold out show Carlos Santana poses at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, with Jason Stone Vice President-General Manager of Live Nation and Darlene Fedun COO of Bethel Woods. Photo courtesy of Michael Bloom for Bethel Woods.

Part of the proceeds of the July 17 concert benefited The Milagro Foundation, Santana’s charity organization supporting underprivileged children worldwide. Since its inception in 1998, the Foundation has facilitated educational, social and medical support for youth in Africa, Haiti and the Americas. Milagro means “miracle” in Spanish. It was also the title of Santana’s sixteenth album in 1992.